Something Strange
by Lerysakon
Summary: Something strange is happening within the walls of Hogwarts. Will they ever find out the cause of these incidents? What will their reactions be if they come to the bottom of things?


**Summary: Something strange is happening within the walls of Hogwarts. Will they ever find out the cause of these incidents? What will their reaction be if they come to the bottom of things?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. (If I did then Draco and Hermione would've definitely ended up together *sigh* Oh well, I can dream, can't I?)**

**A/N: This is something very random that came to my mind. Pardon its... erm... randomness. Anyway, I still hope you like it. Comments are appreciated.

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~Something Strange~

There was something awfully strange happening in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. These occurrences brought trepidation to the students of the renowned school of magic. Everyone was always on alert because of it. It didn't hold the same kind of dark foreboding as when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was still alive but it still brought a similar kind of anxiety to the students. Students, regardless of their year level, were at unease despite the fact that the victims were mostly from the sixth or seventh years.

It had started just about two months after the beginning of the school year. The batch of the well-known Harry Potter, saviour of the world, was now in its seventh year in Hogwarts. Everyone was rejoicing for the finally attained peace. Even Slytherins.

Surprisingly, there were a number of Slytherins who didn't join the dark side and had risked turning their backs on their families. It seems that not all of them really believed in their parents' beliefs and preferred the current state of their world than the world that the Dark Lord promised them. Another surprising fact was that there were actually those from the other houses that joined the dark side, which just proved how severe the stereotyping among the houses was. Because of this realization, there were those who finally tossed aside the prejudices against other houses. Despite this, there were still disagreements between Slytherins and Gryffindors but, thankfully, those didn't end up in hexes flying about.

Well, back to the story. The strange incidents began two months prior to the current time; in the middle of November.

It started with Gregory Goyle being sent to the hospital wing because of his skin mysteriously turning purple. No one paid any attention to this and shrugged it off as a prank of some sort. Then, the next day, Ian Lansforth, a seventh year Slytherin, came to see Madam Pomfrey because of a mysterious case of boils. The afternoon of that day, another Slytherin, only in his sixth year, came because his hair started to fall out.

Many of the students found this quite hilarious, especially because Slytherins of extremely rotten personalities were being targeted. However, when Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff came in with ugly scales as his skin, the students started to see this as a serious matter.

From that time on, Madam Pomfrey received frequent visits from students with ailments ranging from sagging skin to magically exchanged body parts (Dean Thomas surprised the healer when he came in with his feet as his hands and his hands as his feet) to rain clouds following above their heads. Normally, students would find these scenarios very humorous; however, the fear of them being the next victim did not bring humour to the situation _at all_.

Another strange thing is that the culprit/s seemed to target only the male population, seeing as there hasn't been one female victim yet. That doesn't mean that the female students weren't as anxious as the males. There was still the possibility that they could be targeted as well.

The worst part was that _no one_ knew the causes of these incidents. Not even the teachers could figure out who on earth started these shenanigans and for whatever reasons they did it for. Even with the Heads and Prefects checking each corridor many _freaking_ times, they couldn't find a single clue that would lead them to the culprit/s.

When the Christmas Holidays came and ended, everyone thought that the torture would finally stop when they came back to school. How wrong they were.

* * *

"Ah! Damn it! Not again!" Justin Finch-Fletchley cried out when he noticed his skin turning a sickly green colour with blotches of yellow on it. This has been his second time being a victim to these strange occurrences. Susan Bones, who was walking alongside him towards the direction of the Great Hall, gasped in panic. However, the prank didn't seem to end there as thick yellow liquid started to gush out of Justin's nose. This made Susan cry out for help.

"What happened, Susan?" The ever-so-familiar voice of the Head Girl echoed throughout the hallway. The small number of students that were present in that particular corridor looked up to find Hermione Granger rushing towards the now kneeling Hufflepuff with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley following her shortly.

"Oh, Hermione, it's awful. I think he's been jinxed!" Susan exclaimed.

"You reckon it's _them_ again?" Ron asked.

"I don't _reckon_; I _know_ it's _them_." Hermione replied. "When I get my hands on _them_... agh!" She turned to Harry and Ron. "Take Finch-Fletchley to Madam Pomfrey." They both nodded and supported the said boy and headed for the hospital wing. Hermione turned to Susan and asked. "Is there anything that happened this morning?"

"Nothing, Hermione. From what I know he just did his normal routine... well he did ask you out to Hogsmeade earlier, didn't he?"

"That he did and this particular jinx takes effect about an hour after it is cast so this happened some time after he asked me. Were you with him the whole time? Did he do something that might've provoked anyone to do this to him?"

"No, I don't think he did. Yes, I was with him the whole time, except when he went to the loo, of course." Susan answered.

"Was there anyone in the loo at that time?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows almost meeting each other as she thought of many possibilities on the identity of the culprit.

Susan shook her head. "No... At least I don't think so. I waited for him outside the comfort room and no one entered or exited while he was there."

"I see. Thank you, Susan. You still have ten minutes left before your next class, I believe. Why don't you visit him in the hospital wing?"

"Thanks, Hermione. I hope we finally catch whoever is behind all this." The Hufflepuff said before she stood up to visit her friend.

"Yeah, I hope so too." Hermione sighed. "I really can't fathom why anyone would do this, Gin."

"Me too." Ginny replied. "But it's really odd that _they_ are only targeting male students. Maybe it's a man-hating female student? An avid feminist maybe?"

"Perhaps, but we can't assume. For all we know it might be a male student seeking revenge or something. It could even be a group of students that find this amusing." Hermione groaned and ran her fingers through her slightly-less-bushy hair. A habit she picked up from a certain ferret when he joined their side a year before. "I do not find this whole thing amusing. Not one bit. I'm going to talk to Malfoy about this."

"I'll see you later then." Ginny said as she left for the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

"See you later." Hermione replied as she headed towards the Head's common room to discuss this new incident with the Head Boy.

Hermione Granger hadn't been too concerned about these incidents at first. However, when it became apparent that it wasn't just a mere one-time prank, she became determined to find out the causes of these occurrences. So far, she has yet to find solid evidence on the identity of the culprit/s.

As she hissed the password to the portrait guarding the Head's common room, she can't help but think that the answers to her questions regarding these incidents were just under her nose. Why she felt this, she didn't know.

But one thing is for sure: she'll definitely find the person responsible for this mess.

* * *

It had been three days since the incident with Justin and Hermione found herself running down the hallways, anything other than her current goal was forgotten. The strange occurrences were temporarily locked in the very dark recesses of her mind as she dashed down the hallways to get to her potions class. She hadn't expected herself to oversleep and she now deeply regretted ever staying up late.

She almost let out a cry of delight when she caught sight of the potions classroom. But, because of her haste, she didn't notice someone also running towards her direction. Before she knew it, she collided with something very hard and found herself on her back with a very heavy load on top of her.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you!" Ron cried out when he noticed who was underneath him.

"Ron..." Hermione gasped. "... ca-can't br-breathe!"

"Oh Merlin! I'm sorry!" The redhead exclaimed as he started to get up. However, he momentarily stopped when a familiar drawl reached his ears.

"Merlin, Weasel! Can't you do that in private? Have some refinement..." Draco Malfoy sneered at the two on the floor. "... Then again, you can't possibly possess refinement seeing as you're innately barbaric. Fifty points from Gryffindor for indecent conduct."

Briefly forgetting that his best friend was underneath him and was practically being crushed by his weight, Ron snarled at the blonde. "Sod off, Malfoy! Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I should be if you weren't blocking the way with your improper liaison in the corridor." He sneered.

Finally remembering his predicament, Ron scrambled to his feet and assisted Hermione. "I'm really sorry, Hermione! I forgot you were there!"

"It's fine Ron." She sighed as she dusted her skirt. "But I would've appreciated it if you got off me _instantly_ and just ignored Malfoy's taunts." She said with a glare. "You aren't exactly as light as a feather."

Ron blushed at this. "Sorry, Hermione. And sorry for bumping into you."

Hermione just waved her hand dismissively while she picked up her books. "Its okay, Ron. Just go to class and I'll follow shortly." The redhead nodded and, after handing her one of her fallen books, he entered the classroom.

"So you and Weasley, huh... in the hallway nonetheless... had fun?" Hermione heard the blonde sneer.

She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Oh Shut up, Malfoy." She then entered the classroom leaving the blonde with a strange look on his face.

* * *

"Hermione! Hermione! Hermione, Hermione, _Hermione_!" A desperate shriek stopped the said girl in her steps. She pivoted around to see a female redhead sprinting to catch up with her.

"Ginny? Is something the matter?" She asked with a raised brow.

Ginny bent down for a moment to catch her breath. "He's in the hospital wing!" she said in between pants.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Who's in the hospital wing?"

The other girl took another deep breath before exclaiming. "Ron!" Hermione's eyes widened at this.

"_What?_" the pretty brunette yelled in disbelief, making some of the younger students in the hallway jump in both surprise and fright. "Since when? Why?"

"He became a victim! He's been in the hospital wing for three hours now! I've been searching for you everywhere!" Ginny replied while she grabbed the older girl's wrist and pulled her towards the direction of the hospital wing.

"What happened to him?"

"We don't know. He just started to vomit out slugs!"

"Again?"

"Yes. The difference is that we have no idea who cast the spell on him and the spell is stronger! Madam Pomfrey can't even use the counter spell on him, only the one who cast it can stop the spell. For now, Ron will have to wait for it to wear off." Then as if remembering something, Ginny added. "Oh, and he had a bruised jaw." Hermione gasped and ran faster.

When they reached their destination, Hermione rushed inside to find a very pale Ron with what seemed to be his twelfth bucket of slugs; she cringed at this. Harry stood beside his best friend, rubbing his back. He stopped his actions when Hermione burst in.

"Hey Hermione." Harry grinned at her. She smiled back at him before turning her attention to Ron.

"Hermi—_blagck_!" Ron was cut off when he felt the slime-like feeling rising in his throat and he instantly threw his head into the bucket and vomited another batch of slugs.

"That is disgusting." Ginny commented with a look that matched her statement.

"Shut up Gi—_blagck_!" He was about to say when he was interrupted, yet again, by another round of heaving up more of the slimy creatures

"How is he, Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked the healer.

"No need to fret, dear. I believe that Mister Weasley will be fine. I have already healed the bruise on his jaw. As for the spell cast on him, I believe that it is already wearing off. It wouldn't take long now." The woman assured them.

After thanking the healer, Ginny and Hermione sat down on the bed beside Ron and waited for him to get better. Like what Madam Pomfrey said, in a few minutes, the spell finally wore off and Ron was allowed to leave.

As they walked down the halls, Hermione started to question the redhead. "Tell me what happened, Ron."

"Yeah. I was wondering about that too. Do you remember what happened before I found you in the pitch vomiting slugs?" Harry asked.

Ron shook his head. "I can't remember much really except that I felt someone come from behind me and tap me on the shoulder. I didn't get to see who it was because the moment I turned around the bastard punched me! Can you believe that? I was going to punch back but everything was already blurred so my hand snagged something from him. Then the bloody git told me to _'keep your filthy hands to yourself'_ then jinxed me! The bloody prat bloody jinxed me!" He narrated while doing exaggerated hand gestures. "Unbelievable! I don't even know what he meant by that! When I get my hands on him I'm going to bloody kill him!"

"Language, Ron." Hermione said. "So, from Ron's story, the culprit is a male student. But what could be his reasons for doing this?" She then noticed Harry with a contemplative look on his face. "Is something the matter, Harry?"

"Well, I was just thinking how odd it was." He replied.

"What was odd, mate? The fact that the git punched me with no reason?"

"Ron!" Ginny scolded. "Let Harry finish!"

"Thank you, Ginny. Anyway, as I was saying, I find the whole thing strange."

"A lot of strange things have been happening, Harry, how is this different?" Ron pointed out. This time, it was Hermione who reprimanded him to keep quiet before turning her attention to Harry. "As you were saying?"

"Don't you find it odd that whoever this culprit is risked his identity just to jinx Ron?" Harry continued, seemingly unperturbed by Ron's interruptions. "I mean, if this was the same person doing the pranks then isn't what he did odd?"

"Now that you mention it, it was quite unusual for him. From what the other students told me, they just got hit by a jinx or, from what Madam Pomfrey told me, they drank some kind of potion. The culprit never did make an appearance... well... not that anyone knew of. I think that, if this was indeed the culprit of all those pranks, then this is quite strange indeed." Hermione pondered. "What do you think, Ginny?"

"I agree. He had never risked exposing his identity, from what I know." She then turned to Ron. "Maybe he's the boyfriend of one of the girls you flirted with. Who did you flirt with today anyway, Ron?"

"I only flirted with two! Lavender and Parvati, no one else!" He said defensively.

"Well, they don't have boyfriends from what I know." Ginny said. The four of them groaned seeing as they're not getting any closer to solving this mystery. Then, Hermione suddenly lightened up.

"Ron, didn't you say that you snagged something from him? Maybe it could help!"

"Well, I'm not sure about that." He replied while fishing for something from his pocket. "It's just a charmed necklace with letters on it. Not much help actually." When he found what he was looking for, he handed it to the closest person, which happened to be Ginny.

Ginny took the silver necklace and inspected it. It wasn't anything special really. The only thing unusual about it was the pendant attached to it. The silver pendant was in the shape of three letters: _D.A.M_.

"D.A.M.? What's that?" Ginny muttered as she held up the necklace. She gasped when it turned around and the letters changed into _H.J.G_.

"That's a pretty spiffy charm." Ron commented. "I wonder what they mean."

"Maybe it's the owner's initials." Harry suggested.

"That makes sense... let's think of people with initials like this." Ginny stated as she placed her index finger on her chin while thinking of names that bore those initials.

"Ginny, may I see that necklace?" Hermione interrupted their train of thought. However, their attention wasn't caught by her request. The tone of her voice was calm but held an edge to it. Confused at the sudden change, Ginny handed over the necklace.

As soon as Hermione had the necklace, her eyes narrowed dangerously. She then swore under her breath before hastily leaving her friends. The three looked at each other, wondering if one of them knew what just happened. Seeing as not one of them showed any indication of comprehension, they hurried after the Head Girl.

* * *

The Great Hall was filled with the noise of chattering students, like usual. Everybody was enjoying their dinner as they ate their food and conversed with their friends. However, everyone, even the teachers, stopped what they were doing when the door to the Great Hall opened abruptly followed by a yell filled with rage.

"Draco Abraxas Malfoy! You insufferable git! What in blazes were you thinking?" Hermione Granger screamed.

Half of the students stared at their Head Girl in shock and in fear while the other half turned to the student at the receiving end of the witch's rage.

Draco jumped slightly in his seat at the sound of his name being called but he relaxed when he recognized who it was that called him. "Why hello, Granger. To what do I owe this lovely visit?" he greeted pleasantly. Well, pleasant in Draco Malfoy's terms. To most it just sounded like a sneer.

"Don't play coy with me! Why in Merlin's name did you punch and jinx Ron?" She demanded, coming to a stop just a few feet before him. Harry, Ron and Ginny had also reached the hall and were standing by the entrance, watching the exchange in confusion. Everyone was watching the upcoming row with hidden anticipation. The teachers were already readying themselves for the violence that might ensue.

"I have no idea what you're referring to, Granger." He said in a voice that betrayed nothing but innocence. But Hermione knew better.

"Don't you dare deny your involvement in these incidents, you conniving ferret! You've been behind all these strange events all along, haven't you?" She declared while pointing an accusing finger at his direction. Everyone gasped at this revelation and murmurs started to echo throughout the room.

Draco's expression showed that he was insulted but his eyes proved otherwise. "Granger, you wound me with such unfounded accusations!"

With that, Ginny, Harry and Ron approached Hermione. Harry placed his hand on her shoulder and said. "He's right, Hermione. You can't just go around accusing people without proof, even though it is highly possible that the culprit is Malfoy."

"See? Listen to what Potty says. He can actually be intelligent on rare occasions." Harry glared at him but the blonde just smirked in return.

Hermione shrugged off Harry's hand. "Who said they're unfounded? I have proof, Malfoy."

"You have?" Ron and Ginny asked at the same time.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I have."

Draco's smirk seemed to widen even more. "Oh? Do enlighten me with this _proof_ of yours, Granger."

Hermione said nothing else as she held up the necklace that Ron snagged off his attacker. The students close to the two – which happen to be the Slytherins – moved closer to see the jewellery and watched as the letters of the pendant changed when it turns around. Everyone wondered how this small piece of trinket could prove Draco Malfoy's involvement with these incidents.

One of Draco's eyebrows arched up whilst his smirk remained on his lips. Harry looked at his best friend in question. "How is this proof, Hermione?"

"Indeed, Granger, how could this prove that I am the culprit?" the blonde asked in a mocking manner.

Hermione seemed to ignore his mocking tone when she explained. "When Ron became a victim to these incidents earlier, he was able to snag something off the culprit when he tried to fight back. This is the object that Ron was able to get."

"How fascinating." Draco said in a tone that said otherwise, to which most of the Slytherins snickered at. "That still doesn't prove that I was behind it."

"D.A.M." Hermione said out loud. "Draco Abraxas Malfoy. Need I say more?" The three behind Hermione gasped in realization. The murmuring became louder.

The blonde's infuriating smirk didn't even disappear despite this. "How are you sure that those are _my_ initials? It could be someone else."

"Oh please, Malfoy, I know for a fact that this is yours. I've seen this on you before." She stated confidently.

"Ah, but that is a charmed necklace, as you've noticed since the letters change as it turns around. How are you sure that this necklace does not belong to the one who bears the other set of initials?" He questioned in a very amused tone.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "I just know. Stop putting the blame on others! Admit it, Malfoy, you've been the one behind all these strange occurrences all along!" She yelled.

"And what if I am?" he challenged. The murmuring had already turned to chatters but the arguing party didn't seem to notice.

"Why the bloody hell did you do those things?" She demanded. "What in blazes did they do to you?"

He shrugged. This infuriated Hermione even more. The _bloody_ _git_ just _shrugged_. "They dared to lay a hand on what's mine."

Hermione blinked. "That's _it_? They touched what was yours? You did all that for such _infantile_ reasons?"

"Oh, believe me, Granger, they weren't infantile. They were perfectly reasonable to me." He replied. "Not all of them tried to touch what was mine, per se. Some just tried to hurt her or tried to seduce her. Either way, they deserved it."

Hermione frowned in slight confusion then, in a second, she realized that he wasn't referring to an object. Everyone else seemed to also come to that conclusion, if the bewildered faces and puzzled statements were anything to go by.

The victims of the incidents, to which Draco Malfoy now admitted to doing, had on expressions of confusion. As far as they know, they haven't gone near any of Malfoy's presumed girlfriends. Of course, no one was sure who his girlfriend is/was since a number of girls claim that he is their boyfriend, even though he isn't. So, to avoid the wizard's wrath, males who desire to live – or at least keep an important part of their anatomy – steer clear of these girls unless proven that they aren't in a relationship with the Slytherin Prince. Therefore, they became puzzled over the identity of this girl that has been off-limits to them all along.

"What? When did that ever happen? Gregory Goyle?" She questioned as she waved her hand at said boy's direction.

Draco shrugged again. "Called her insolent names." Goyle shifted in his seat, more afraid of the blonde now that he found out that he had actually offended Draco's girl.

"Ian Lansforth?"

"Spanked her bottom when she passed by him." He answered as he sent a glare at the said boy's direction. The Slytherin just gulped and tried to avoid the menacing glance.

"Ernie Macmillan?" Ernie shivered at this and hid behind a fellow Hufflepuff to avoid Draco's glance.

"Tried to flirt with her." He answered

"Anthony Goldstein?"

"Tried to make a move on her when they were studying in the library." He turned to glare at the rapidly paling Ravenclaw. "Don't think I didn't see your hands trying to feel her up, Goldstein." This made Anthony gulp.

As Hermione mentioned some names and Draco gave the reasons that he 'punished' them, all students' minds were trying to work out who this mysterious girl was. So far, they couldn't come up with one clue as to who the girl was.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley?"

"Asked her out to Hogsmeade... twice!" Justin turned pale by that. However, his eyes widened as if he realized who it was that the Slytherin Prince was referring to. His jaw dropped at this comprehension as he watched the two Heads argue.

"Still! Those aren't good reasons for you to jinx students! Your Head Boy for Merlin's sake!"

"Wait! I didn't do anything to whomever this girl is, Malfoy!" Ron interrupted. "Why did you punch me and jinx me?"

"On the contrary, Weasel, you did the worst. You molested her this morning." Draco stated with a glare.

Ron's mouth was agape. "What? When did—" But he was cut off by Hermione's yell of frustration.

"You are out of your bloody mind, Draco Malfoy! Your actions are silly and infantile! Ron did _not_ molest me, you misinterpreting prat! Are you daft? We bumped into each other on the way to Potions! So before you start planning your ridiculous retributions, get your bloody facts straight, you insufferable git! And for your information, Ferret, I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much! So stop these foolish hoaxes of vengeance on my behalf because they are not one bit amusing!"

As Hermione panted to catch her breath, everyone stared at her in shock. Even Draco was giving her a look of disbelief. A few moments later, Hermione appeared to realize what on earth she said and gasped. Her face turned a dark shade of red as she stared at the wide eyes and open-mouthed expressions on her schoolmates' faces.

"Bloody hell." Ron managed to mutter. The statement snapped everyone out of their stupor and the Great Hall went alive with gossip about the revelation.

Draco smirked at the witch and sauntered towards her. All eyes watched the scene with hidden anticipation, this time they weren't waiting for an argument. They were waiting for confirmation on this newly found information.

And confirmation they received.

As soon as Draco stood in front of Hermione, he diverted her attention from the embarrassment of being in the limelight by grabbing her chin and making her look at him. He then bent down and kissed her, right in front of the bewildered students – and teachers – of Hogwarts. This just caused the Hall to be noisier than before, if that was possible.

When the blonde pulled away, he gave his girlfriend a smirk. "Way to reveal our secret, Love, but weren't you the one insisting on keeping this confidential?"

"Shut up, Draco." She scowled while hitting his arm playfully. "You caused this."

"Me? Why ever would you accuse me of such? I believe you were the one who came in here shouting the nature of our relationship."

"Oh shut up, you insufferable git." She groaned while giving him his necklace. "Let's just get out of here before I blurt out something else." She pulled him by his arm towards the doors of the Great Hall. Draco only chuckled at her as he let her drag him out.

When they were out, Ron turned to his two companions. "Did that just happen?"

Harry pinched himself. "I believe it did... So if the pranks started during November... then that means they have been together for two months!"

"Stupid!" Ginny suddenly exclaimed and caught the attention of the two boys.

"What is it, Ginny?" Ron asked his sister.

"Why didn't we realize it sooner, it was so obvious!"

"What was so obvious?" This time, it was Harry who asked.

"The other set of initials! H.J.G." Ginny pointed out. "The answer was right under our noses the whole time!"

Harry almost hit his head on the wall when he realized it. "Hermione Jean Granger."

The three were silent for a while for a while, until Ron broke the silence. "I still can't believe she didn't tell us that she's with Malfoy! Her and Malfoy." Ron shivered at this. "That's just wrong... and weird."

"It's strange." Harry added, to which Ron nodded. "I need a few minutes to digest this information before I go after them and question Hermione's sanity."

"I'm with you on that one, mate." Ron agreed as they made their way to their table. As they sat down, Ginny said something that made Harry and Ron spit out the pumpkin juice they were drinking.

"I think they make a rather adorable couple."

"You did not just say that." The male Weasley said. "Them together is just really... odd."

"Bizarre... you know it just occurred to me that we've been complaining about the strange incidents in school-"

"The pranks?"

"Yes those, Ron. But you know what; this beats all of them by a long shot."

"Cheers to that, mate."

And, from everyone's reaction that day and the following conversations during the next few days, it seemed that the people in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had the same opinion as Harry and Ron.

Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger - a Slytherin and a Gryffindor - a Pureblood and a Muggle-born, a very unlikely pair, as a couple, was by far the strangest thing that occurred at that time. But then again, getting a taste of the Slytherin Prince's wrath and seeing a glimpse of the Gryffindor Princess' rage, who were they to argue?


End file.
